3 ms·
> Governments are just people, led by politicians ... empowered to do things we lock up, tase, beat, sick dogs on, and/or kill other people for doing. Kind of
by _jal 8y ago
> Governments are just people, led by politicians
... empowered to do things we lock up, tase, beat, sick dogs on, and/or kill other people for doing. Kind of an important distinction to make.
If you have reason to think exhorting your peer-proles to 'pick qualified and capable people' will lead to better outcomes now than it has in the past, certainly, please continue. Some of us, however, don't see that happening and prefer to explore other approaches, even if you happen to find our pessimism 'silly'.
- jopsen 8y agoBig corporations can also make your life miserable... And they aren't exactly as accountable as our governments.
- bigiain 8y agoAnd their being accountable to shareholders is the avenue of accountability these groups are trying to use. Might not work, but surely it's worth a try?
- manigandham 8y agoYes, it's called authority. The point of the comment is that we should pick the proper people to give that authority to, instead of fighting against them through some strange corporate proxy. If you want an alternative, why don't you become the qualified and capable person to join the government to shape it the way you want?
- int_19h 8y agoAnd we're working on that, too. But it's a slow process, and meanwhile there's damage to mitigate.
- manigandham 8y agoSlow doesn't matter if it's effective. This current approach is rarely that, and usually amounts to nothing more than noise. The government is not deterred by a single corporation, no matter how big.
- int_19h 8y agoThe goal is not to deter them. The goal is to make it more difficult for them to do what they're doing, and thereby ruin fewer people's lives. And yes, slow absolutely does matter, if you're one of the people caught up in the grinder.
- _jal 8y agoAnd the point of my comment is that those given authority frequently do stupid, destructive things with it, and I believe in reducing the number of stupid, destructive things that happen. You appear to believe that authority deserves deference simply because people call it 'authority'. I don't. There exist legitimate and illegitimate forms. The illegitimate forms are dangerous, and sometimes stupid, and deserve to be opposed. And who decides? I do. I am arrogant enough to believe individuals don't need those in authority to make moral judgements for them.